Faraway Places: Some Hue Specialties

In Vietnam each region or province has their own specialties, and the locals in that region are convinced that this food is the best in all of Vietnam. Every new city I go to I am asked if I have tried their specialty. If I have the next question is– "It's delicious, no?" and if I haven't tried the said specialty I hear, "It's delicious." Hue is no different, in fact I think the people here are the most proud of their food, especially when it comes to bun bo Hue versus pho. Pho is very well known all over the world as the Vietnamese food to try, but people in Hue think bun bo Hue is much better. It is actually pretty entertaining to listen to people rattle on and on about bun bo Hue. Anyways, in the past few days I have brought my camera to meals to document the specialties. Enjoy!

Banh canh ca loc. Big fat thick noodles made from rice and tapioca
flour with really delicious pieces of fried fish. It only cost
10,000 VND, about 50 cents. What is interesting is you don't
use chopsticks with this dish, only a spoon!

Quail eggs are always served along with banh canh. At first
I didn't really care for them, but now I love them!

Bun bo Hue. I got the version with the meat in balls so I could
pick around the stuff I didn't want to eat. Bun noodles are
made from rice.

My friend Tue got the real bun bo Hue with chunks
of meat all over the place. This cost 25,000 VND
(just over a dollar.)


I don't really know what the real name of this dish is but I am going to call it bun cua because it is the bun noodle with balls of crab meat (cua). So bun + cua = bun cua.A little more expensive though, a whopping 30,000 VND ($1.50)

Erika eating her bun cua

Bun hen. These are the bun noodles with little freshwater
clams, hen, on top. There are also vegetables, peanuts, and
broth that you pour on top. Usually it costs 10,000 VND
but I know a place where I can get che & bun hen for 10,000.